Ways to Maximize Business Exposure on Facebook

by Nicole Vulcan, Demand Media

Create new relationships online to gain leads for your business.

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There's no denying that Facebook is a must-have for any business owner who wants to increase his company's exposure to its target market -- but just having a Facebook business page is not enough. To make Facebook work for you and your business, you need to go beyond sending out updates that tell what you're doing. Maximize your exposure on the social media platform by spending time engaging with your followers and creating passive elements that engage your followers when you're not looking.

Engagement

Facebook provides a way for individuals and businesses to share their stories through photos, status updates, opinion polls and other types of content. That's why creating a solid plan for the type of content you'll put out is important. However, just putting your content out there is not enough. Equally important is ensuring that you're engaging with the people who engage with you. When someone "likes" or comments on a post you've put up, an alert goes out on that person's Timeline, telling their friends that they've engaged with your business page. Even if those friends don't already "like" your page, they're going to hear about your business. Follow up with the people who engage with your page to encourage them to come back again. This includes posting responses to comments and promptly answering any questions that are posted on your page.

Other Pages

In the interest of exposure, you'll need to go even further than just responding to comments on your own business page; you'll also need to engage with other pages that are similar to yours. Leave comments on the pages of businesses that are like yours or businesses with which you do business. If one of those businesses posts a status update, photo, video or other item you like, click "Share" to share it with your own followers. When you show active participation on other business pages, the managers of those pages are more likely to do the same for you. Another way to engage is to join or start a Facebook group that pertains to your industry and then to leave comments or create events that encourage users to engage.

Page Elements

When someone visits your page, there's already a good chance that they're interested in what you have to offer. You can take advantage of that opportunity and encourage people to engage further with your business by providing a button that takes them to your website. Visit the "Registration" Facebook page to get started.

Advertisements

While they cost some money, you can't overlook the passive benefits of Facebook ads for maximizing your business exposure. Most of the other methods of promoting your business require active participation, but the benefit of a Facebook ad is that it works while you're not looking. Facebook ads can be tailored to people based on their demographic, interest and age group -- you'll be able to specifically target the audience you want to reach. Facebook ads mine the profile information and status updates of users and then tailor ads to them based on keywords that appear in those areas. Use Facebook's "Facebook for Business" page to get started creating an ad.

About the Author

Nicole Vulcan has been a journalist since 1997, covering parenting and fitness for The Oregonian, careers for CareerAddict, and travel, gardening and fitness for Black Hills Woman and other publications. Vulcan holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and journalism from the University of Minnesota. She's also a lifelong athlete and is pursuing certification as a personal trainer.

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